Orca Inquiry- Professional Development for Educators

by Chris O'Connor

The Royal BC Museum and Ocean Networks Canada have teamed up to provide orca related resources and professional development sessions for educators. The resources within this playlist promote ocean literacy and demonstrate how we are all connected to the ocean and have a responsibility to protect it for the future. Through the species lens of orcas, we hope learners:

-deepen their understanding of the essential principles and concepts about the ocean
-can communicate about the ocean in a meaningful way
-are able to make informed decisions regarding the ocean and its resources.


Orca Vocalizations Activity Plan
Through this activity, students will learn about orca communication! After listening to orca vocalizations, students will have the opportunity to develop their own classification to describe the sounds.

Orca Families Activity Plan
In this activity you will explore orca families, looking closely at the southern residents as an example. Just like human families, orcas learn from elders in their communities.

Southern Resident Killer Whale L-Pod in the Salish Sea
3 October 2011: These southern resident killer whale L-Pod calls were recorded by the IOS high frequency hydrophone array deployed at a depth of 300m at Central Straight of Georgia. The hydrophone's automatic gain control, which adjust the gain in response to how loud the sounds are, causes this recording to sound choppy.

Northern Resident Killer Whale G Clan, I Sub-clan
26 January 2013: Another recording of vocalizations made by members of the Northern Resident Killer Whale G clan, I subclan. This recording was captured by an Ocean Sonics icListen high frequency hydrophone in Folger Passage at a depth of 95 m.

RBCM@Home (Kids) program- Orca Story time
Join author and filmmaker Mark Leiren-Young for a reading from his new books for young readers, "Orcas of the Salish Sea" and "Orcas Everywhere." He shares stories about the endangered southern residents and answer questions about orcas everywhere and anywhere.

RBCM@Home (Kids) program- Food Chain Fun
Join Parks Canada staff as we explore the food chain of the Southern Resident Killer Whales! We’ll be drawing the different animals and plants that killer whales and other species rely on to keep our ocean healthy.

RBCM@Home program-  Resident Orca Family Structure
Join us for a special edition of RBCM@Home. We've partnered with Parks Canada Vancouver for a discussion on southern resident orca family structures, which are inclusive, nurturing, and multi-generational. Learn how you can help protect them!

RBCM@Home program-  Spirits of the Coast
Curator of history Dr. Lorne Hammond will discuss the Royal BC Museum's newest publication, Spirits of the Coast: Orcas in Science, Art and History, and highlight the various contributions to this beautiful new book.

RBCM@Outside- Saturna Island
Join us for this special RBCM@Outside at East Point on Saturna Island. We will virtually journey to Gulf Islands National Park Reserve to meet up with Parks Canada Interpreter Athena George for a guided walk along this scenic coastline. We’ll learn about southern resident orcas and Moby Doll, one of the first whales captured for captivity, right off East Point. We’ll have time for a quick stop at Saturna Heritage Centre.